OKC Street Racers

Discerning fact from fiction is often a difficult task. When a person makes a statement such as, "Oklahoma City has the fastest street cars in the country," a few reactions are possible. Indifferent people will say, "Whatever, who cares?" To which our response is, "Go drive your Prius off a cliff." Argumentative people will parse the definitions of fastest and street car. Is a car with a parachute mount really a street car? Does a real street car have Hard Blok in the engine? Must a street car have an alternator? Finally, competitive sorts will skip past all the discussion and build a car to beat the guys making the claim.

All that is fallout from the new TV show Street Outlaws on Discovery Channel. As a Car Craft reader, we'll assume you've seen the TV show, too. If you haven't, the second season will be airing soon. We hear they are filming it as this is being written.

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Say what you will about the show, but there are two big factors in its favor: It is drawing attention to the issue of street racing, and it is inspiring other people to build fast cars of their own. Facebook and message boards are full of people talking about the show, both good and bad. The point remains, however: People are talking about the show, and they continued to watch through the first eight episodes. On top of that, the energy generated was enough to inspire people to get working on their own cars, building something that could hang with, or maybe beat, a car on the show.

While Car Craft fully supports people building fast cars, street racing is an issue we've tap-danced around. We like the cars and the adrenaline, but we can't and don't want to condone street racing. Nevertheless, Street Outlaws forces people to discuss this issue because one very common complaint is that the racing on the show is done on closed streets or airport runways. "How can they call themselves street racers if they are racing down a runway?" is a common complaint. The answer is obvious, of course: Neither the production company nor Discovery Channel want to be liable if someone were to be injured during the filming of the show, so the racing is done on closed roads. We obviously take the same position, which is why you won't see any street racing pictures in this article. Instead, we will focus on the people we met during our week in the 405 and the cars we saw while we were there. You'll notice a trend in Oklahoma City: Big-cubic-inch big-block Chevys with lots of nitrous rule the street. Oh, and the people are much cooler in person than the way they come across on TV.

3/56One place where several of the guys from the show meet is Alternative Motorsports, a repair and performance shop owned by Chuck Seitsinger, seen in the foreground. This picture was taken the day after the first episode of Street Outlaws aired, and the guys were starting to get friend requests and smack-talkers showing up on their Facebook pages.

The 405

Central Oklahoma's telephone area code is 405. It incorporates 25 counties, 111 cities (including OKC), and encompasses a population of 1,296,000 people. Whether or not the area has the fastest street cars in the country is open for discussion.

4/56Dave Comstock, John Gentry, Shawn Ellington, Robert Chapman, Shane Hawkins, and Justin Shearer (left to right) check out YouTube clips of the show and read the more interesting comments aloud. You need thick skin when in the public’s scrutiny.

Alternative Motorsports

Chuck Seitsinger owns this '89 Mustang, the only car not powered by a big-block of some kind. Purists will still be offended by his choice to drop a small-block Chevy in it, though. His small-block is a potent piece, starting with a Dart block with a bore and stroke combination that calculates to 428 ci. Hensen racing Engines did the machining and assembly, and some of the goodies include a Callies crankshaft, r&r aluminum connecting rods, and ross racing pistons. The compression ratio is a stout 14.5:1, and the thing sounds absolutely killer when running. His cam is from Bullet, and he was intentionally vague on the specs but would admit to having more than 0.800-inch valve lift. Isky lifters and a Jesel shaft-mount rocker arm kit round out the valvetrain. The cylinder heads are from aFr, and they ingest the fuel mix from a Braswell 4375 carburetor, mounted sideways to quell the effects of fuel slosh under hard launches.

Chuck's been running a Monte Smith nitrous plate system but is planning a switch to turbochargers as his power-adder of choice. Chuck took some Internet commenter heat after the first two episodes of the show, with people saying he was a terrible driver. He's actually a record-holder in the now-defunct NDRA series in the Honda Civic on the lift. Its best pass was 8.21 at 184 mph. He did that with a stock-block 1.8L engine on 60 pounds of boost. Chuck says if the car had been rear-wheel-drive (and therefore able to hook better), he'd have been going 7.70s.

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James "Doc" Love drove his '70 Monte Carlo to Chuck's shop for us to go over with our cameras. He's owned this car since 2003, and it was a decent performer at the time he purchased it, hitting low 11s at the track. It's also bit faster now, with a 570-inch, short-deck big-block Chevy packed with a Callies crankshaft, GRP connecting rods, and Diamond pistons. Race Flow Development built the cylinder heads, and Doc has an additional 600 hp available at the tip of his finger, should he want to hit both stages of the Monte Smith Performance nitrous kit. Mickey's Chassis Works in Norman, Oklahoma, built the rollcage and wheeltubs, and Andrew Teal did the bodywork and painted the car in Imperial Blue.

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John "Baron" Gentry brought his budget-built Cutlass to Alternative Motorsports, too. His 468-inch big-block was built by Henson Racing Engines with an Eagle crank and rods, JE pistons, Chevrolet Performance rectangle port cylinder heads, and a Holley Dominator built by Madix Racing Carburetion. This relatively simple combination sends 560 hp to the rear wheels, naturally aspirated, and 898 hp on the unit. The sweet blue paint was a home-grown exercise he accomplished with several cans of Plasti-Dip, so John can peel the coating off whenever he gets sick of Smurf blue.

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The Farm Truck

Hidden in a totally generic-looking industrial complex on the north side of OKC is where Sean Whitley keeps the '70 C10 Farm Truck, perhaps the most well known of all the Oklahoma City cars. Sean purchased it from an Auto Trader ad in 1998 and quickly blew up its existing 400ci small-block. Don't let the Farm Truck's ratty exterior fool you—serious business is found under the hood. The engine is among the smallest of the group with just a 0.030-over Chevrolet Performance ZZ502 crate engine. Mark Brown at Advanced Engine & Machine in Salina, Kansas, machined and assembled the current configuration, using the stock GM crankshaft, Diamond pistons, Scat rods, and ported Chevrolet Performance cylinder heads. Add to that a Nitrous Express fogger kit tuned by Justin Shearer, Hooker headers, and a 4L80E transmission built by A&A Transmissions. The combination is mild enough to run on pump gas, and though the engine has been in the truck for 13 years, it's still potent enough to make 10.20 passes at the track, even though Sean admits it's time for a rebuild. Farm Truck's interior is a mixture of quirkiness and functionality, combining pull cords for train horns and a full complement of gauges across the bottom of the dash. Also noteworthy is the rollcage installed so tightly you barely see it. Sean likes dogs, so say hi to Keebler, Benny, and Louise (foreground to background). Louise has been Sean's constant companion for more than 12 years, and she's always in the truck with him when he's racing. Worried about liability, the show's producers required that Louise be fitted with her own custom fire suit.

20/56Sean and sidekick Jeff Bonnett, aka AZN, are total goofballs. Give them a Car Craft T-shirt, and they brandish weapons and bullhorns.

Monza and Youngblood

Jerry Johnston is known in the area for his Chevrolet Monza race car, but he recently finished building this '72 Camaro Z/28. He bought it three years ago as a rotting shell in some guy's garage. "It was covered with about a foot of dust," Jerry says, and "it hadn't been tagged since 1985." It took him less than two years to get it to the condition you see here. Mickey's Chassis Works built the chassis, the rollcage, and the headers, and while it was at the chassis shop, Jerry worked on getting the driveline together. He started with Dart's tall-deck block, adding a Callies crankshaft, GRP aluminum connecting rods, Diamond pistons, and RFD cylinder heads. The final displacement measures out to 598 ci, and with a 14.0:1 compression ratio, the soundtrack is pure sex. Jerry refused to discuss cam specs past the fact that it's a Bullet solid roller grind. He has a T&D shaft mount rocker arm system, a 1,250-cfm Dominator built by Pro Systems, an Edelbrock Super Victor intake, an MSD ignition, and a two-stage nitrous fogger kit by Monte Smith. The transmission is a PTC-built Powerglide with a 3,500-stall PTC torque converter. Power gets to the ground through a McNasty fabricated 9-inch axlehousing built by Mickey's Chassis Works. Jerry's car is the nicest-looking 7-second car we've seen in years, and Jerry credits Jason Gardner who did the bodywork and After Hours Paint and Body for the stunning paintjob. Jerry finished the interior and wired the car. One cool touch we especially liked was his RPM Performance data-logging dash panel.

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His son, Brandon, drives this '81 Z28, which they bought as a roller about two years ago. A production 454 block resides under that tall cowl-induction hood. It's been punched out to 496 inches and is loaded with Eagle crank and rods, SRP pistons, Brodix heads, and a Comp solid roller cam with about 280 degrees of duration and more than 0.800 inch of valve lift. Henson Racing Engines did the machining and assembly. On top, Quick Fuel's 1,050-cfm Q Race Series carburetor is bolted to an Edelbrock intake. Brandon's running about 13.0:1 compression, just slightly less than his dad, and he's also running a two-stage fogger system. A TH400 built by Wilson Racing Transmissions is bolted to the engine, and it shoots about 800 hp back to the 9-inch rear axle. Calvert Racing split monoleaf springs and Cal-Tracs traction bars keep the rearend planted.

Varley's Auto

Wayne Varley is the owner of the automotive repair business that bears his name. He started working on cars at 14, when he changed the water pump on his father's car. He's been a professional mechanic since high school, a street racer for longer than that, and an unapologetic, life-long Ford lover. "I bleed blue," is an expression he repeated often during our interview. This Mustang mural is in the lobby of his repair shop. Wayne owns this '80 Mustang notchback (on the lift in the background), a car he calls the original Midwest street car. He's been racing it for years, saying "I [never] turned down a race. I've won a lot of money by late-night racing." The only guy on the show without a Chevrolet engine, Wayne feels "like a blue boat in a sea of orange." Currently, the driveline is out of the car, while Wayne and his son, anthony Maytos, a technician at Classic recreations, assemble a potent 526ci plant based on a Ford racing a460 block, Cobra Jet cylinder heads, a Scat crank, Eagle rods, Wiseco pistons, a Bullet racing cam, and a 1,050-cfm Dominator carburetor. His goal is 650 hp on the motor, with plans to spray about a 500 shot of nitrous on top of that. Wayne was also quick to point out that his car was more streetable than most of the others on the show with a full interior, a full exhaust system, and the stock unibody rather than a tube chassis.

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Dominator

Joe "Dominator" Woods is a welding instructor for a drilling company. He purchased this '67 Dart about 10 years ago as a rolling chassis. Currently, it's powered by a 632ci Bow Tie big-block built by Jerry Johnston with a Callies crank, GRP billet rods, and JE pistons. The Comp solid roller cam dials in around 290 degrees of duration at 0.050-inch tappet lift and 0.820-inch valve lift. Brodix heads set the compression ratio at 13.5:1. Joe's 1,550-cfm Dominator was prepped by DaVinci Carburetor, and a PTC Powerglide with a 3,500-stall torque converter sends power to the wheels. He's just running a nitrous plate system right now, but a fogger system is in the works. Why put a Chevy into a Mopar? Joe says he's not brand loyal, and the Chevy was a pragmatic decision. He admits his car is the most like a race car out of the group, with a Funny Car cage and minimalist interior. He built the cage, the headers, and the fabbed 9-inch axlehousing.

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Murder Nova

Shawn Ellington is the owner of Murder Nova. For those not up on modern colloquialisms, "Murder" is a shortened version of the phrase "murdered-out," used to describe a car finished completely in matte black. Shawn has owned this '69 Nova for eight years, and it was basically a roller when he bought it. Now, he's pushing about 1,800 hp to the wheels, thanks in no small part to the Proline Racing 572 under the Nova's lift-off hood. The foundation is a Dart Big M block, Dart 380 heads, a Lunati billet crankshaft, billet rods from Oliver, and Diamond pistons. Into the mix, add a Jesel shaft-mount rocker arm system, a Comp solid roller cam, Isky lifters, a titanium intake, and Inconel exhaust valves, and you have a really impressive engine. Shawn didn't stop there, however. He mounted a crank-driven ProCharger F3X supercharger, which runs an undisclosed amount of boost, and sharp eyes will notice the camshaft-driven cable, which spins a mechanical fuel pump, "because the electric pumps I tried couldn't keep up," Shawn says. It feeds Q16 race gas to a 1,400-cfm blow-through Dominator built by Carburetor Solutions Unlimited. At the time of our shoot, Shawn's car wasn't running. He had broken the transmission during filming of the first season of Street Outlaws and was using the down time to make some changes to the top end of his engine, as well—in other words, convert to EFI!

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Gerald Brand

Gerald Brand, owner of Brand Racing Engines, was another name that kept turning up the more people we talked to. He's built or machined the engines in Varley's Mustang and Justin's Silverado. Gerald has been machining and building engines since he was 17 years old. Now 54, he's owned his business for 25 years, and his machine shop is also located on his home property. He strictly does performance builds, too, saying half his customers are circle-track racers, and the other half are drag racers. He occasionally does vintage road racing engines, too. We especially liked his shop assistant and dyno operator, Ruby, the Corgi/Red Heeler mix.

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Big Chief and Flip

Tyler "Flip" Priddy was one of the bigger personalities on the show. Unfortunately, he died just two weeks prior to the show's premier episode. Out of the group of cars on the show, his El Camino is closest to a build we'd feature in Car Craft, because it was done on a very tight budget with leftover and used parts. Justin "Big Chief" Shearer walked us through the build. "The engine is a 454 block we got out of a dump truck, the crank and rods are from Eagle, and we're using Probe pistons. The heads are Brodix BB2 Shawn [Ellington] bought for his Nova that were ported by some meth head who ruined them. We pulled them out of the trash and put them on this engine." The rest of the engine includes a mystery cam—"The numbers were ground off," says Justin—Comp rocker arms, a Crane stud girdle, an Edelbrock intake manifold, a used Madix Carburetion Dominator, and an NX fogger system. The trans is a 1.69:1 First gear Powerglide, and a 9-inch is out back, equipped with 4.10:1 gears on a Mark Williams spool.

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Why the fender-exit zoomies? "We both liked WWII airplanes like the P-51 Mustang," Justin says. They needed to make exhaust for the car and had a pair of exhaust flanges and spare tubing lying around, and the result is certainly unique. The car sounds really cool with them, too.

Justin is known as Big Chief because of the GTO he's had for a while. It's currently being completely rebuilt, so he's been driving this '03 Silverado his wife bought a few years ago. He swapped in an LQ4 6.0L engine upgraded with Callies connecting rods and SRP pistons, an Isky cam, and a PT88 turbocharger from Precision Turbo & Engine. A Tial wastegate and an eBay intercooler round out the induction side of the turbo system. All this is good for close to 1,000 hp at the wheels, so Justin swapped the truck's stock rear for a 14-bolt axle out of a 3⁄4-ton pickup, but the added power has him munching through a series of 4L80E transmissions so far. Since we shot these pictures, Justin has totally upgraded the turbo kit with a larger, more efficient turbocharger and a bigger intercooler.

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Mike Henson

Mike Henson has built several of the engines powering the OKC cars. He began his career as a diesel mechanic and machining and assembling engines on the side. Then in 2006, he quit that job to start Henson Racing Engines. It's an easy commute to work, too, since his machine shop is right next to his house. Now, he just does performance builds, from hot street engines to circle track, with a few Pro Mod engines in between. He has a dyno cell in the shop and told us the biggest power number he's seen on it was 1,880 from a blown alcohol big-block Chevy. The engine in his Top Sportsman Corvette makes 1,300 with a 600 shot of nitrous. It's powered by a 706ci Brodix 11.2-inch deck-height big-block Chevy and runs 7.17 at 185 mph at the track.

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Dave Comstock

Known as Daddy Dave on the show, Dave's '96 Sonoma was also out for repairs during the time we were in OKC. It's too bad we missed out, too, because the specs are impressive. Starting with an aluminum block from Donovan Engineering, Morgan and Son Racing Engines of Grand Prairie, Texas, built the monstrous 632ci engine using a Callies crank, GRP rods, and JE pistons. Then they dropped on a set of Big Chief cylinder heads. The compression ratio is somewhere around 14.0:1, so it runs on VP C23 race gas. On top of that, Dave runs two huge stages of nitrous through it. He wasn't too specific just how much, though. "It actually has three stages of nitrous, but I've only used two so far," he says. A Hughes Performance–built Powerglide transmission and a 5,000-rpm stall PTC torque converter are bolted to the engine, sending power to the Fab 9 rear axle built by Mickey's Chassis Works. How fast is it? "You can just say it goes sub-4-seconds in the eighth-mile," Dave says. Umm, that's pretty fast.

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Big Rob Entertainment

Robert Chapman was our guide through the OKC scene. He's a field repair technician for an oil and gas drilling company, and in his off time, he runs Big Rob Entertainment and is the responsible party for helping the 405 guys gain YouTube fame. He's been filming races since 2006, editing them to upload to YouTube or burn to DVD. His YouTube channel has more than 5,000,000 views. He also excels at photobombing any picture you are trying to compose.